Things are heating up in the ballroom! Latin Week proved interesting.

Be sure to check out my previous post that provides a bit of analysis and a bit of prediction for Latin Week.

Of course we begin the show with Tom providing witty comments about the elimination show the previous week.  This time there’s the added “perk” of hearing him butcher the Spanish language.  Ah, Tom.  We love ya!

Santana opens the show and is accompanied by the troupe of dancers.

Of course, the dancers are in bright, tropical colors.  Yes, of course.

Oh, pretty Samba rolls!

All of the pros in the troupe are dancing in a little mob in the middle of the floor…almost looks like Mardi Gras!

Brooke is promising that this will be the steamiest show.  Hmmm….

Well, we start with a view of Maria wearing a REALLY big feather hat!  Oh,  dear.  That’s an eye-opener!  Particularly since it’s yellow!

With the exception of Roshon, the attitudes from the couples is a little more subdued as they come down the stairs than in previous weeks.  I think the competition got very, very real for them with Sherri’s elimination last week.  VERY real.

So, let’s begin.

Jaleel and Kym dancing the Samba.

• Kym describes the Samba as all about shaking the booty.  We’ll see how that works out.
• He’s often good at getting attitude and moves…but he’ll lose control a bit.  He’ll need to contain that with the Samba.
• Jaleel is scared about the dance duel.  He should be.  That’s going to make or break the couples in the bottom two.
• COMMERCIAL?  REALLY?
  
• He’s showing off the chest…Bruno and CarrieAnn will like that.   He’s moving pretty well.  Though he might be having some of those brief moments of losing control.
• Overall, this was a nice dance.  It was quick and interesting.
• Jaleel just put his hand on Kym’s ass…and she removed his hand.  HA!
• Len:  Oh my goodness…Len is standing!  “your bum was going like it was chewing a toffee.”
• Bruno:  “You got the party started.”
• CarrieAnn:  She calls the arm work getting a bit out of control out of hold, but she likes the dance.
• Goodness they have a lot of stairs to climb after they dance!
• 8 from CarrieAnn; 8 from Len; 8 from Bruno
• 8+8+8=24
• Brooke asks “What were you hoping for this week?”  Really, Brooke?  What do you think they were hoping for?  All 5s?  Please!

(And here is Mom’s Target commercial – good thing she is sleeping right now so she doesn’t have to listen to the annoying French song.)

Melissa and Maks dancing the Salsa.

• Very nice…a rhinestone studded neck brace and hard hat.  Excellent, Maks.
• Melissa is trying to find her sexy…but she’s having trouble getting there.
• I don’t know how Len is going to feel about the beginning of the dance…it didn’t really start for a few bars…and he’s never thrilled about that.
• I think she might still be playing it a little safe, but she’s trying hard.
• Oh, things picked up a bit for her after the break in the music.
• Considering she’s working with a head injury, that wasn’t too bad.
• Bruno:  He likes the effort and the energy.  But she needs to control and get the movements very precisely.
• CarrieAnn:  “It’s beautiful how much confidence you’ve gained in yourself.”  But, she agrees with Bruno about control.  CarrieAnn suggest smaller steps.
• Len:  He sees great rhythm but also some messiness.  Overall, though, Len seems to like it.
• 7 from CarrieAnn; 7 from Len; 7 from Bruno
• 7+7+7=21
• “Maks if you really were a street performer, what would you do?”  Brooke!  What the hell was that??

Maria and Derek dancing the Salsa.

• Lots of Maria working on the sexy.
• Oh, dear….Maria really hit the ground hard.  That’s totally not good.  But she seems to be okay.
• HA!  Bubble wrap and a helmet!  Very funny.
• I’m so glad he took off that feather thing on her head.
• Maria is really working the fringe…that’s for sure.
• Oh my!  Derek takes off the shirt and Maria gives him a lip lock.  Look out!
• Well, she looks like she’s having fun and she’s doing a decent job with the choreography.
• I think she might get dinged a little for her footwork though. Some parts seemed a little rough.
• Overall, pretty good.
• CarrieAnn:  She’s all hot and bothered…of course.  She doesn’t think they needed the kiss though.
• Len:  “Two things were revealed:  Derek’s body and your talent.  I wasn’t too impressed with Derek’s body.”
• Bruno:  He is such a little slut!  Ultimately, he liked it. (I didn’t catch everything he said, but it had to do with a bedroom, being legal, and him being invited.)
• 9 from CarrieAnn; 9 from Len; 9 from Bruno
• 9+9+9=27
• Great score for Maria and Derek

Katherine and Mark dancing the Argentine Tango.

• Oh, poor Katherine!  She just kicked Mark in the balls…and she keeps doing it! She’s doing damage to Mark’s naughty bits.
• It’s interesting to see a celebrity take the pro’s teaching for what it is.
• Some nice lifts happening…she seems a tad uncomfortable coming out of some of them…but not bad.
• She appears to have calmed her kicks and flicks…she’s not getting his naughty bits.
• Her lifts and spins make pretty pictures.
• I thought the performance was good…I’m not sure how I feel about the choreography.
• Len:  Like a rose….it had beauty, but underneath it had the thorn.
• Bruno: “Dancing and choreography of the highest quality.”  He also loved the acting and storytelling.
• CarrieAnn:  “Your legs are the best legs of any contestant ever.”
• 10 from CarrieAnn; 9 from Len; 10 from Bruno
• 10+9+10=29
• I honestly thought there might have been a perfect score there based on their coments. (Yes, I admit that I have my favorites too.)

Gavin and Karina dancing the Samba.

• Gavin is just a charming kind of guy.  It doesn’t really matter that he isn’t the best dancer…he’s just a nice guy.
• How nice to dedicate his dance to the fans.
• Oh dear…he’s in a boat.  That doesn’t bode well.
• The man looks good in white pants…that’s a plus.  Not a lot of men can pull that off.
• You know, this seems to be the most relaxed Gavin has been during a dance…his technique is not great…but he’s having a great time and you can really tell.
• Oh, there was a trick that didn’t quite work…but they covered it up nicely.
• Bruno:  “With all the madness, I actually enjoyed it.”
• CarrieAnn: “You were lacking a little bit of form.”
• Len: “It was more of a Shamba than a Samba, but I’ve gotta say…this is a hard dance and it was a galliant effort.”
• 6 from CarrieAnn; 6 from Len; 7 from Bruno
• 6+6+7=19
• Oh, harsh!  But, you know what, I think they’re right.  He just didn’t have the technique.  But, damn he had fun.

And now it’s time for a music break.  Santana hitting the Latin rhythms with Ana and Louis dancing!  Yay!  I’ve missed both of them.  I’m sorry…I have to say it…Ana is just HOT!  I wish she would get a celebrity that’s worthy of her so that she can get to the finals.  I think she’s the best of the female professionals. (They’re all great…but there’s just something about Ana.  Perhaps it’s the red hair.)

William and Cheryl dancing the Argentine Tango.

• We’ll get to find out a bit more about William’s ankle injury.
• He had a trick go wrong during his jive, so now he’s lacking some confidence with the tricks in the Argentine Tango.
• Or perhaps we won’t find out about his ankle injury.
• Cheryl supposedly considers the Argentine Tango “her” dance.  We’ll see if she could transfer that to William.
• The beginning of the dance was a lot of him standing still while Cheryl flitted around him.
• Some of his footwork seems heavy, but I’m sure the judges will love it.
• CarrieAnn:  She’s all hot and bothered…she’ll be voting with her hormones, I’m sure.  “That was ridiculously amazing.”
• Len:  “I saw mood, I saw passion, I saw sensuality and color”
• Bruno:  His hormones are on full power…I have no idea what he said.
• 10 from CarrieAnn; 9 from Len; 10 from Bruno
• 10+9+10=29
• CarrieAnn and Bruno certainly consider William a favorite.  I don’t think that was worthy of 10s.  9s?  Most certainly.

Gladys and Tristan dancing the Samba.

• Love that Gladys is performing and rehearsing and working and going.  She’s great.  And she works so nicely with Tristan.  I like their relationship.
• Go Gladys!  Shake what your mamma gave you!
• Not too bad with the Samba rolls…they could have had more speed, but they weren’t bad.
• Oh shimmy and shake, girlfriend!
• Once again, I really like the color they’ve chosen for her costume.  It suits her.  And Tristan is good at choreography that suits her, as well.
• Len:  “What you are Gladys is easy on the eyes.”  “This number was simple but effective.”
• Bruno:  He loved it.
• CarrieAnn:  “You had a few tiny mistakes.”  “The flavor was great, but the mistakes took you back a notch.”
• Next week is Motown?  Nice.
• 7 from CarrieAnn; 7 from Len; 8 from Bruno
• 7+7+8=22
• Again, based on comments, I thought these might be higher.

Roshon and Chelsie dancing the Salsa.

• Trying to copy William Levy is NOT going to make this kid sexy.  I hate to break it to him.
• Okay, if you deserve to be here, prove it.  Get it done, Kid.
• He’s doing pretty well so far.  Personally, I’d like to see him have a bit more control over his arms and legs sometimes, but I’m sure the judges are going to love it.
• Overall, that was a pretty good dance.  I still think he was a little wild at times.
• Bruno:  He loves it.
• CarrieAnn:  “I liked it.  It was very appropriate.”
• Len:  “I like your enthusiasm.”  “Sometimes you’ve got to calm down and enjoy the journey.”  Seems like Len saw that lack of control, too.
• I still think he needs to hit more of the humility.
• 9 from CarrieAnn; 8 from Len; 9 from Bruno
• 9+8+9=26
• I still think that they are getting over-scored.  They’re a good dancing couple, but I don’t think they’re that great. And I don’t think that’s my bias talking.

Donald and Peta dancing the Argentine Tango.

• I can’t believe Peta just yelled in his ear.
• Well, he can handle lifting her…if he can keep from getting dizzy.  It looks like it has promise.
• What is Peta not wearing?!  Whoooooo.
• So far, this is turning out to be a really nice dance.  He’s handling the lifts and tricks nicely.  Had he’s certainly suave.  I wonder a bit about some of his footwork.
• That spin was CRAZY fast!
• CarrieAnn is going to be spastic:  “That was divine.”
• Len:  Thought the lifts were spectacular.  The rest of it “nearly but not quite.”
• Bruno:  “The buildup was amazing.”  Bruno didn’t quite like the walk with his hand in the pocket.
• 10 from CarrieAnn; 8 from Len; 9 from Bruno
• 10+8+9=27
• Those scores were a bit all over the place, weren’t they?

And that brings us to the end of Latin week…and it’s time for a group hug with the stars in the Celebraquarium.

So, don’t forget, boys and girls…you have to vote.  If you want your favorite to return next week, you have to put in the votes.  We saw what happened to Sherri last week.

Here’s where things stand for this week…and in total.

Katherine has regained her position on the leaderboard…and she’ s pulling ahead a bit in the overall.

	CarrieAnn	Len	Bruno	Week 5	S 14
Katherine/Mark	10	9	10	29	134
William/Cheryl	10	9	10	29	128
Maria/Derek	9	9	9	27	126
Donald/Peta	10	8	9	27	125
Roshon/Chelsie	9	8	9	26	126
Jaleel/Kym	8	8	8	24	119
Gladys/Tristan	7	7	8	22	108
Melissa/Maks	7	7	7	21	107
Gavin/Karina	6	6	7	19	107

But we all know:  Scores alone don’t win this competition!

Quick…go vote!